Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), an NYC-based media watch organization, recently conducted its third study on the diversity of commentators on NPR. NPR is known as a liberal/intellectual media haven, so its lack of diversity is particularly disappointing—especially because NPR’s strategic plan includes an impending goal of featuring “stories at the intersection of race, ethnicity, and culture.” That’s pretty hard to do accurately with all white dudes as contributors. Read More

In Terry Gross's NPR interview with writer and editor Jessica Grose, professor of linguistics Penny Eckert, and speech pathologist Susan Sankin, the subject on the table was the policing of young women’s voices. “People are busy policing women’s language and nobody is policing older or younger men’s language,” Eckert says. Two of the speech tics discussed are uptalking (ending a sentence like it’s a question) and vocal fry (drawing out, or rasping, the ends of sentences). The clear double standard here? Men often employ these same tics. Read More

According to a recent report from the World Health Organization, transgender people are not getting adequate health care, and widespread discrimination is largely to blame. This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, and it can be seen most clearly when you consider the extremely high rates of HIV among transgender women worldwide.
Yesterday evening on All Things Considered, NPR’s Arun Rath spoke with JoAnne Keatley, one of the authors of this WHO report. Read More

Like any talented photographer, the late Mary Ellen Mark’s photos leave us wanting to know more about her unexpected subjects. Luckily, NPR’s Chris Benderev tracked down the child who was featured in one of Mark’s most memorable shots entitled, “Amanda and her Cousin Amy,” and here’s what we learned:
The nine-year-old girl seen smoking a cigarette in the photo (shown above) is now known as Amanda Marie Ellison. She is 34 years old, lives in Lenoir, NC, and she says of the photo shoot, “Never forgotten it. Never in my life have I forgotten it. Read More

Obamacare is making wave in the Supreme Court: King vs. Burwell—a case that will decide whether or not the IRS can extend tax-credit subsidies to coverage purchased through healthcare exchanges established through the Affordable Care Act—will likely come to a close today. The final decision could impact access to healthcare for millions of women across the country.
As it stands now, 14 states have their own healthcare exchanges (or marketplaces) that exist independently from the federal government; and 34 utilize the federal exchange. In 2014, 5. Read More